The present invention relates to fins and their attachment to small water craft and, more particularly to a system for attaching a variety of fin configurations to a surfboard.
As with many types of sporting equipment, many variations on the basic article have been developed to tailor the article to the preferences of the user and the conditions of use. So it is with the fins attached to the rear undersides of surfboards.
It is an obvious advantage for the owner of a board to be able to interchange the fin or fins both to experiment, with the aim of finding the fin most suited to their body weight and style of riding, and from time to time to suit the conditions in which the board is to be ridden.
Interchangeable fin systems are known and comprise of a selection of fins retained in a so-called fin box. Particular examples may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,830,025, 5,975,974 and WO 01/70565. The fin box is generally a permanent fixture built into the body of the board during its manufacture and, again generally includes a slot or slots into which the tab or heel of the fin may be inserted. The means for retaining an inserted fin securely in the fin box are many and varied, ranging from relatively simple snap-in systems to arrangements incorporating fasteners requiring the application of tools to install and remove a fin from its fin box. A disadvantage with these systems is that the fin box is designed to take only one configuration of a fin tab, so that the owner of a board who wishes to change or experiment with a variety of fins from manufacturers other than the manufacturer of his or her board, or at least the fin boxes fitted to the board, is restricted in choice.